There is a Light that Never Goes Out
by sekimen
Summary: Take me out, tonight. (MisaxLight) *Warnings: mentally abusive relationship (I guess?), major character death.*


**A/N: **Please listen to _There Is A Light That Never Goes Out_ by _The Smiths _before reading this if you haven't before! Even if you have, I'd recommend listening to it before/while reading the fic, because this is the (theme? mood?) I was going for while writing it. Thank you! Another thing, this story is set in the Mello and Near arc after they move in together. Also, happy 10th anniversary, Death Note!

* * *

Light turned his head slightly in the passenger's seat to face her. She was so fixated on the road; although admittedly, Light acknowledged her surprisingly excellent driving skills.

"What kind of music do you like, Light?" Misa questioned.

The dim moonlight shone it's way through the window and onto their faces as they both sat beside the other.

"Not the kind you'd like," he answered, ignorant.

She picked up a CD from the car's glove compartment and pushed it into the CD slot. Misa had unmistakably heard Light sigh to himself. At that very moment, resentment was all she could taste on the tip of her tongue. Slowly, the CD began to play, and guitar chords that were very familiar to Light sent blood rushing through to his head.

"The Smiths?" he asked himself aloud. He couldn't contain his astonishment. _I actually love this song._

_**Take me out tonight,**_

_**Where there's music and there's people,**_

_**And they're young and alive.**_

"Yeah, do you like them?" A small smile had crept it's way onto her face.

"I do," he frankly said.

A short silence came out from the both of them.

"Where should we go, Light?" she paused to look at him as she parked her car to the side of the road.

The way she would add his name as a suffix to each sentence that left her mouth irked his nerves. "This is a no-park zone. Can't you read the sign?"

"Sorry, Light. It just seemed to me that you didn't want to go home," she looked out her window, opposite him.

_I really don't. Does a guy like me have time to aimlessly spend around, though?_

His tone had changed. "I'm sorry, too. Don't be sad. I'll go with you wherever you'd like tonight."

"Oh, really?" her eyes lit up and she almost jumped out of her seat in excitement. "I know this really nice park not far from here. I heard they have a Valentine's Day festival tonight. Would you like to go, Light?"

"Sure."

Misa had let out a small squeal before setting the car in reverse and carefully backing out onto the road behind. She had the windows rolled halfway down, and was driving at a hundred kilometers per hour.

**_Driving in your car,_**

**_I never, never want to go home,_**

**_Because I haven't got one,_**

**_Anymore._**

"The festival seems really nice! There are lots of young couples hanging around there. Just like us, Light!" she flashed him a pleasant smile.

His expression was dreary as he stared at the road straight ahead. His body was slumped in the passenger's seat, with his left cheek resting on the back of his palm and his elbow sitting on the car's console. He had his other hand tightly gripped to the end of his turtleneck sweater.

_I might as well try to enjoy the night. I don't really find pleasure in disappointing her, anyway._

"We could stop by the supermarket and get a few snacks. What do you say?" Light sat upright in his seat as he spoke.

"You mean a picnic?" she said, overjoyed.

He let out a slight chuckle, "Yeah."

_**Take me out tonight,**_

_**Because I want to see people,**_

_**And I want to see life.**_

Light could see the local supermarket in the distant view. The city's park, in which the festival was being held at, was ten minutes away from the supermarket in walking's range. Opposite their path was the way to one of the most popular nightclubs in Tokyo. Loud and clamorous music was being blasted out of several overpriced cars on the opposed highway. Light rolled his window up and stared down at his lap, displeased. Watching them in his sobriety repulsed him in ways that made him feel infirm, or ill.

_**Driving in your car,**_

_**Oh, please don't drop me home,**_

_**Because it's not my home, it's their home,**_

_**And I'm welcome no more.**_

"How's work at the task force, honey?" Misa asked humbly.

"It's doing good," Light simply answered.

Misa stopped at the traffic light and leaned back in her chair with a stretch at her feet. She began to twirl the ends of her hair with her index finger and moved her head to face Light. She granted him a flirty smile, his head still facing his legs.

Suddenly, there were car honks sounding from behind the vehicle and Misa realised that the traffic light had indicated "GO!" with green lights. She took hold of the steering wheel, her actions inept. She cursed herself internally for blundering in front of Light.

_**And if a double-decker bus,**_

_**Crashes into us,**_

_**To die by your side,**_

_**Is such a heavenly way to die.**_

They could both feel the atmosphere grow tense upon hearing the lyric at the start of the chorus. Light had begun reaching his hand-about to decrease the song's volume-but Misa had quickly struck her hand in front of the volume knob, blocking his hand's way.

"What?" he said in a disgusting tenor.

"Leave it," she ordered, her voice cracking awfully at the end of her speech.

He couldn't believe his ears. _How dare she?_

Looking at her, he noticed her hands shaking violently as they grasped the steering wheel way too tightly for her fragile hands. Her whole body was trembling, and she was scared; that much was obvious. He could tell that she resented her flurry of disrespect.

"Misa, calm down. Otherwise we'll really end up crashing."

She couldn't help but let out an uptight giggle, although she wasn't sure if his pun was intentional. Her fingers began to loosen their grip on the wheel and her shoulders slightly relaxed themselves.

_**And if a ten-ton truck,**_

_**Kills the both of us,**_

_**To die by your side,**_

_**Well, the pleasure-the privilege is mine.**_

Suddenly, the car stopped.

"Light, we're here!" Misa announced with her usual blithe manner. She had altered her emotions rather readily; it was a habit that had grown on her.

He got out of the car and walked over to Misa's side, who was already waiting for him right before the supermarket's automatic entry doors. She stuck her arm out with the intention of him interlocking his arm with hers; but Light walked straight past her and through the doors that oversaw and welcomed his idle footsteps into the shop.

"What are you getting?" Misa asked as she nimbly followed him inside.

"I'm just getting some juice. Would you like some?" he offered.

"Okay," she'd agreed inattentively; Misa never liked snacks anyway.

Light headed for the beverage section at her reply, with Misa at his tail.

"Anything else?" he asked her after grabbing two juice boxes.

She shook her head, implying a "no."

"Well then, we'd better hurry for the park before it gets late."

Light payed for their drinks and they proceeded to leave the supermarket; it was the middle of February, and it was quite frigid outside. They decided to take a walk to the park, seeing that it was quite close by.

"It's cold," Misa said rubbing her arms, looking for the interim warmth the friction gave; she was dressed inappropriately for the night's weather.

"Are you feeling chilly?" he was quite cold himself, even with a sweater on to keep him decently warm.

"Yeah," she yawned. The cold always made her feel sleepy.

He'd thought about taking his sweater off and giving it to her, but he had on less of what she was already wearing beneath it, so he took the one decision he thought was right.

"Come here," he'd stuck his arm out and faintly hugged at her torso, pulling her into his grasp with a mere force.

"Light..." Misa felt overwhelmed, although she wasn't sure if with surprise or bliss.

It was a placid stroll on the sidewalk, with the two of them exchanging body heat. Light would occasionally rub at her shoulder down to her forearm to warm her up. She'd looked up to catch a glimpse of his expression-lackluster. She wondered what thoughts spiraled around in his head; what words would enter his mind like helium in a balloon, just to ease its clasp on the sting and be free to roam the earth's lid aimlessly.

_She's so naive. It's pitiful, really, how she portrays my gestures of kindness. It's simply a negligent man feeding his dog when it breaches the verge of starvation-not affection of any kind.  
_

"Light, I really enjoy spending time alone with you," Misa's voice rang in his ears, like a downbeat melody.

"Me too," The deceit would shoot straight out of his mouth effortlessly, as distorted of a man he was. Although his tone was monotonous, lacking emotion, she believed him anyway. He was skillful at falsifying how he felt or what he believed, but he wasn't good at portraying the emotions that came along with it.

"Oh," Misa sounded disappointed.

"What is it?"

"The festival... it's over," she stated.

He focused his attention on the approaching park which was several steps ahead, noticing booths packing up and weary couples heading home.

"Sorry guys, the event's at an end for tonight," a member of staff had called out to them.

"Will the festival be held tomorrow as well?" Light asked him.

"The festival will last until February 14th, Valentine's night. You've got two days left to come back and visit!" he informed the couple with enthusiasm.

"I see," Light nodded his head, "Thanks." He reached his hand out to the young man.

"No problem," he shook Light's hand respectively.

"Come, Misa," he'd still had his arm around her, so she submissively rotated paths along with him and they both began walking back to Misa's car.

"I really wanted to go," Misa pouted and clung onto his arm tightly.

"It's okay. There's always tomorrow, right? I'll take you as atonement to today's let-down," he smiled down at her.

Misa had no trouble with that.

The walk back consisted of nothing but absolute silence; Light had nothing to express and Misa was simply enjoying his company.

"It's about time you got a new car," Light said bluntly as they finally reached Misa's car, which was still parked by the local supermarket. It was Misa's first and only car, and was a present from her parents a couple birthdays before they had passed.

"I'm happy with this one. It was from my parents," she sat herself in the driver's seat.

He didn't reply.

Light followed in after her as she turned the car's ignition switch. The song automatically began to play once again, and Light found himself hit with yet another pang of adrenaline. It was nostalgia, he supposed.

_**Take me out tonight,**_

_**Take me anywhere, I don't care,**_

_**I don't care, I don't care.**_

"Shall we go home, then?" Misa asked with a hint of disappointment still resonating in her voice.

A mumble of agreement was all that escaped his lips.

**_And in the darkened underpass, I thought,_**

**_Oh God, my chance has come at last,_**

**_But then a strange fear gripped me and I just couldn't ask._**

He found himself engrossed in the music, perhaps too much for his own good. He had a habit-one that Misa found to be one of his countless charming attributes-in which he'd tap vigorously along with any beat he would come across. It was absurd, to him, how she would notice these things. In reality, though, she couldn't really help it.

**_Take me out tonight,_**

**_Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care,_**

**_I don't care, I don't care._**

"Misa," he called out over the music.

"Yeah?"

"What do you feel as I'm holding your hand?"

"It's hard to explain..." she paused and pondered for an answer. "Most of all, though, I feel loved," her answer came out tentatively, as if her words weren't enough. They never were.

_**Driving in your car,**_

_**I never, never want to go home,**_

_**Because I haven't got one,**_

_**Oh, I haven't got one.**_

Out of serenity, he placed his warm hand over hers. Her fractured heart was momentarily whole again; opposite the self-adorned heart that resided in his chest. It was bare, vacant. It wasn't something he admitted to be a psychological error, not even an emotional deficit in the slightest. Instead, he was more than pleased with the lack of sensibility he had managed to carry.

_**And if a double-decker bus,**_

_**Crashes into us,**_

_**To die by your side,**_

_**Is such a heavenly way to die.**_

"Your hands are warm," Misa thought out loud.

He snickered to himself. _How can a being as cold-blooded as I am emit any form of warmth?_

"So are yours."

Any person would have thought cynically of his tone, but Misa was diseased, perchance just as much as he was.

_**And if a ten-ton truck,**_

_**Kills the both of us,**_

_**To die by your side,**_

_**Well, the pleasure-the privilege is mine.**_

He knew how cautious she was on the road. He never for a second doubted her absolute devotion to him; she'd always taken the path that suited him best. Her motive was to protect him, please him. He knew that all too well.

_For half a second, their eyes both witnessed the luminescence of headlights intensify and grow larger in scale. Their minds grew utterly barren and their stomachs had dropped down to the very pits of their stomach. He'd held her hand tighter than before; his unconstrained hold vanished. It was the fear that gripped him closer to her. He saw her eyes close as she instinctively turned the steering wheel to the right, her side of the car._

_Crash._

_Bang._

_Poof._

_That's how it would usually go, wouldn't it?_

_Not this time._

_It was a drop of blood away from his death, and he was so sure he was the only one conscious from the outcome of the collision._

_Why?_

_He knew exactly why._

**'Amane Misa, car-crash, February 12th, 11:17 PM.'**

**'Marshall Elaine, car-crash, February 12th, 11:17 PM.'**

_He was trembling as he held onto her dead flesh. It was cold. He suddenly wasn't himself, and it was strange. He knew he wouldn't die, but at that moment, he felt like he already had._

_And what afflicted him the most was that he saw her peer into his notebook a couple hours before they had left._

But never did he once come to think that she'd place his death forth hers in that manner.

Never did he expect such a selfless act.

And as he lay there in his sickening, sopping, gore-drenched state; in all his sanguinary glory-the song progressed to the very end.

_**Oh, there is a light and it never goes out.**_

_**There is a light and it never goes out.**_

_****__**There is a light and it never goes out.**_

_**There is a light and it never goes out.**_

___**There is a light and it never goes out.**_

_**There is a light and it never goes out.**_

___**There is a light and it never goes out.**_

_**There is a light and it never goes out.**_

___**There is a light and it never goes out.**_


End file.
